Duel of the “Rising Stars”: Round Two

April Lockhart gave me chills with her cover of "Say You'll Be There."

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Last week, Rising Starshifted things into high gear as the Duels began!

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Both the viewers and experts (Brad Paisley, Kesha and Ludacris) voted through Alice J. Lee, Megan Tibbits and Jesse Kinch into the next round. Meanwhile, the West Coast elected to bring back Lisa Punch into the competition.

Tonight, six more artists try to win a spot in the Quarterfinals! Which artist did you raise the wall for? Read on to find out…

The first duel of the night belonged to Gabrielle Nicole and Macy Kate! Rising Star’s resident diva was the first performer to take the stage. After learning a lesson of humility from the experts, she tackled Tina Turner’s classic “River Deep Mountain High.” Both powerhouses Pia Toscano and Sisaundra Lewis proved that if someone tackles this song, they could be eliminated from their respective competition. She knocked it out the park and it is a shame that she only got a 49-percent from the public! That was epic!! A+

16-year-old Macy Kate had to raise the wall! She tackled “Demons,” a song mastered by both The Voice’s Will Champlin and X Factor USA’s Jeff Gutt! In all honesty, I felt that Macy Kate was very average with her performance and I heard it better. It is a shame that America chose a meal from McDonald’s instead of a five-course-meal from an elite restaurant. F

Brad Paisley called this next duel a battle of “quirky, unique voices.” Sonnet Simmons tackled “Feeling Good.” In all honesty, this song has been overdone on other shows and Melanie Amaro set the bar very high on X Factor USA. There were some pitch problems and screech issues in this song! I would not even play Sonnet’s version on the radio! F

April Lockhart was tasked to raise the Rising Star wall! She tackled Neon Trees’ “Animal.” I loved her unplugged approach to the song and her energy was infectious! I had a great time watching her and her vocals were just insane! A-

Bring on the men! Two of the show’s best male vocalists took the stage for the final duel of the night! 20-year-old Austin French tackled Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want to Be.” Idol’s Bo Bice forever immortalized this song and Austin faced numerous problems such as a pitchy start and an overpowered band to deliver a quality performance. B

Adam Jaymes closed the night with a Tom Petty classic! Fan Melissa W. suggested for him with “Free Fallin’” and the experts wanted him to correctly hit the falsetto notes. When he opened his mouth, he eased my ears! I loved his take on this classic song, and it is a shame that he was not voted through to the next round. B+

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For three years, Mr. Elyachar has recapped some of the greatest talent shows of all-time: "America's Got Talent," "American Idol," "Dancing With The Stars," "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Voice" & "X Factor USA." In addition, he has also interviewed some of the most beloved alumni from those shows!

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